Father's Day: What Every Good Father Remembers (Proverbs 3:1-12)
By John A. Huffman, Jr.
I visited a church member in a Roman Catholic hospital. Her face lit up as I walked into the room. She thrust a green menu sheet into my hands and said, "I saved this for you. Isn't it terrific?"
Decoding the puzzled expression which came over my face as I read her circled choices of asparagus soup with saltines, pot roast of beef, boiled potato, buttered carrots, custard, and tea, she said, "Oh, no, not that side. Read the other side." There, on the other side, was a little article titled "A Word in Favor of Father."
Your father?
Maybe he gets crabby sometimes. Maybe he could tell you things a little more gently. Perhaps he even blames and scolds you unfairly once in a while. But think of all the times when you did something wrong and got away with it. You're still far ahead of the game.
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And don't think your father is angry or grouchy every time he looks or talks in a serious way; maybe he's really worrying about you -- and with good reason. The next time he gives you a good going-over, take it like a good soldier who has made a mistake. Don't ever go away with a grudge in your heart against your father -- a grudge that won't wear off for three or four days.
You don't have to put a halo on your father's head or wings upon his shoulders to get the right picture of him. But remember that he is not just the man who provides the home in which you live, the food you eat, the clothes you wear and the money you spend.
He is your father!
Father gets little enough in return for all he does and gives. Love from his children? Certainly! But love packed in little packages and so tightly wrapped that poor father wears himself out looking for the speck of love that is tossed to him. And it's a rare day when he has to get out an umbrella to protect himself against the showers of thanks that are rained upon him. But he keeps on working and providing and giving. He is satisfied with the happiness he provides for his family.
I like that. Father gets a lot of guff and too little credit. So it is good to have a day when we pause to honor our fathers. However, we would waste our worship time if we allow it to evolve into mushy, sentimentalism about fatherhood. Instead, I would like to share a biblical word having to do with fatherhood.
The Bible has a lot to say about fathers. There is no way in which we can deal with all of it. So today I'll focus on two verses:
Proverbs 3:11-12. "My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."
The implications in these verses can help you and me confront who we are as fathers. These could be reduced to a thesis statement. It would be something like this: The good father is the one who is disciplined and disciplining. Let us remember some of the implications which undergird this thesis statement.
I. Every father is also a child.